COMPUTING & IT RESOURCES
than being passed on to the student. A student shouldn’t need to understand how a university’s systems are organised in order to get something done.
The opportunity is to be proactive
Once universities have that connected view, the conversation changes. Support no longer has to begin when a student asks for help. Universities already hold a wealth of information about their students. Used well, it can help identify when someone may need guidance, allowing staff to step in earlier rather than waiting for a problem to emerge. Students increasingly expect digital services that understand context. They don’t want to search through multiple webpages or work out which office they should contact. They want clear guidance that reflects where they are in their journey.
Technology should support people, not replace them. The real value lies in giving university staff better insight, so they can step in earlier and spend more time where they have the greatest impact.
Freeing up time for university staff
Students don’t see the systems behind the scenes. They experience the gaps between them. They’re asked to move between different platforms to complete what feels like one task. Staff switch between systems to build a picture of a student’s circumstances. The information exists, but it isn’t always connected in a way that makes life easier for the people using it. For staff, that can mean spending valuable time finding information, checking records or asking colleagues for context that should already be available. For students, it can mean repeating themselves or receiving guidance that doesn’t reflect the full picture.
The answer isn’t necessarily to add another system to the mix. In fact, doing so can make the problem worse if it creates another place for students and staff to navigate.
When admissions, academic teams and student services are working from a shared view of the student, guidance becomes more consistent and staff have the context they need to provide the right support. This is where digital transformation delivers real value. Not by replacing one piece of technology with another, but by connecting information across the institution so students and staff experience one joined-up journey rather than a series of disconnected processes.
The ambition should be for the complexity to sit behind the scenes, rather
For many registry and student services teams, the start of the academic year still brings hours of manual administration. It’s the kind of hidden effort that students never see, but staff know all too well.
Reducing that administrative burden is about far more than efficiency. Every hour spent moving data between systems is an hour that cannot be spent supporting a student who needs advice or reassurance. This is an important part of the wider conversation about digital transformation in universities. The goal shouldn’t be to make services feel more automated for the sake of it. It should be to remove the work that doesn’t need to take up a member of staff’s time, so they can concentrate on the work that does.
When routine processes become simpler, staff have the space to focus on the conversations that make the biggest difference.
Creating a better digital starting point
Ultimately, students expect systems to make life easier. The universities that stand out will be those that use technology to quietly remove friction, connect services and help people get where they need to be. Student success is built over time; through every interaction a student has with their university. Increasingly, the first of those happens online. Getting that first experience right sets the tone for everything that follows.
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www.education-today.co.uk
September 2026
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